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Dulwich College – along with Winchester – has declined the offer
Two top English private schools have defended their decision not to accept a benefactor’s offer of scholarships for disadvantaged white boys.
Winchester and Dulwich colleges have declined the offer – reported to be worth over £1m – by former pupil at both, Professor Sir Bryan Thwaites.
The schools say they do not want to put ethnic restrictions on who can benefit from financial help.
Sir Bryan says he is now looking for state schools to accept his offer.
The philanthropist, who is 96 and plans leave the funds in his will, attended Dulwich until the start of the Second World War, and then went on to Winchester.
His parents could not have afforded the fees for him and his brother without the aid of scholarships.
Sir Bryan told the Times newspaper that this was why he wanted to make a leading education available to others and believes the institutions are wrong to reject his offer on the basis that it is based on race.
He told the Times: “I have done a lot for both schools over the years and have been closely involved in them.
“All the more, therefore, do I feel that both schools have made a strategic mistake in their interpretation of legislation.”
Scholarships and bursaries
Winchester, a boarding school which charges £13,903 per term, and Dulwich, which charges £7,082 a term for day boys and £14,782 for a term of full boarding, are among the most exclusive schools in England.
At Dulwich, there are currently 191 pupils from Year 3 to Year 13 who are in receipt of a means-tested bursary, the school said.
“The college’s ambition is for 50% of pupils at Dulwich to be in receipt of fee relief through scholarships and, increasingly, means-tested bursaries. This figure is currently 30%,” it said in a statement.
A spokesman for Winchester College said: “The school, in common with many universities, has outreach schemes aimed at carefully selected and under-represented communities. These schemes operate successfully and are regularly reviewed.
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Winchester College says it has outreach schemes
“The school will continue to discuss with benefactors the effective delivery of their intentions.
“But the trustees are clear, having consulted widely, that acceptance of a bequest of this nature would neither be in the interests of the school as a charity, nor the specific interests of those it aims to support through its work.
“Notwithstanding legal exceptions to the relevant legislation, the school does not see how discrimination on grounds of a boy’s colour could ever be compatible with its values.”
Master of Dulwich College, Dr Joe Spence, said: “We are extremely grateful to the many benefactors who support the College’s bursary fund. Their generosity means we are able to offer academically able boys a place at Dulwich College.
“I am, however, resistant to awards made with any ethnic or religious criteria. Bursaries are an engine of social mobility, and they should be available to all who pass our entrance examinations, irrespective of their background.”
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